In the 1920s, expanding trucking companies had started making inroads on most railroads LCL freight. Although the lack of good highways kept this situation a minor issue for a while, by the late 1930s, trucking had become a major competitor for the LCL freight business, and the AT&SF was no exception.

           Santa Fe reacted by first providing LCL pick-up and delivery service in 1931. Rapid expansion of the motor-freight companies in the southwest at this time kicked the Santa Fe into high gear. The AT&SF went and purchased controlling interest of a mid-western bus and trucking company in 1935 named the "SOUTHERN KANSAS STAGE LINES". The SKSL was formed on Nov. 26, 1924 by Aaron Greenleaf and Dan Sauder, two pioneers in the early years of the bus industry. In 1927, on a 38 mile run between Wichita & El Dorado, truck #600 launched the SKSL into the freight business. A second truck was added in 1928. Service was expanded over the next few years by purchasing the following co.ıs : the "Ford & Stafford Truck Line" , "Shaffer Truck Line", "Payne Truck Line", all in 1928, and the "King Truck Line" in 1929.

           By Dec. of 1938, Santa Fe had purchased several more smaller trucking operations, merged them in with the SKSL, and then picked-up the remaining portions of the SKSL itself. The "Santa Fe Trail Transportation Company", a new AT&SF subsidiary was created to operate all of the combined trucking routes and was headquartered in Wichita KS. SFTT ran in the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, & Oklahoma. By WWII, the SFTT expanded their routes west into Arizona & California, expanding to 7,300 mi.

           With changing times, 1947 was the year that the Santa Fe sold off the bus division to the "Transcontinental Bus System". By 1949, ten years after the official start-up of the SFTT, route mileage was up to 9,444. During 1968, the management structure of the SFTT was reorganized.

          Mr. Charles J. Nassimbene was brought in to serve as president of the SFTT. This position had been historically held by the president of the railroad since the acquisition of the trucking co. Mr. Nassimbene had served as vice president of a major truck company, and held the presidentıs position at the SFTT until the very end. As the years went by, the SFTT continued to expand, and by 1970, they now had 17,000 route miles, and 5,656 pieces of equipment.

           As the 1970ıs wore on, the railroad industry as a whole, including the Santa Fe, started a pattern to downsize " overhead costs". This included such areas as labor of any kind, maintenance facilities, and fixed plant. Other factors at this time was a slowing of the economy, which by the early 1980ıs, had greatly affected the SFTT. This, as a matter of course, made the SFTT a prime target for elimination. Unfortunately, revenue continued to dwindle for the SFTT in 1983, and in April 1984, it was all over. All SFTT stock was sold and ownership was transferred to "Rail Services Inc." Santa Fe Trail Transportation Co., as we knew it for a little over 45 years, was history.

Copyright © 2002 Karl Erk